Behind the Mask
by klonoafan5
Summary: The plot twist that no one expects, not even the main character. (Written on October 17, 2017)
1. Chapter 1

"I believe that Junko Enoshima is the Mastermind!"

"Oh?" Monokuma smiled. "Are you really sure?"

"Who else would it be?" Kyouko retorted.

"Well, you aren't entirely wrong. Junko was only a part of the scheme. Don't worry though. This person _knows_ that they're the Mastermind. At least one of him."

"O-One of him?" Chihiro repeated to himself nervously.

The bear lightly chuckled. "Isn't that right...Makoto?" The brunet paused, his eyes widening in disbelief. "W-What?!"

"But he would never do anything like that!" Aoi yelled defiantly.

"Relax, relax. I said only one of him knows. You see, Makoto here possesses a side of him that remains hidden ever since your memories were erased. Unlike this little ray of sunshine, that part of him never forgot."

"You mean..." Touko frowned in worry. "He has a split personality too?"

"Ding ding ding! We've got a winner!"

"No..." He shook his head in rejection. "That can't be true!"

Monokuma smirked at the young brunet. "Oh, but it is. After all, _you_ were the one who planned out the whole thing."

"No..!"

"_You_ were the one who wiped everyone's memories behind your own back."

Makoto clutched his head, he practically feel his mind slipping away and a new one coming in his place.

"_You_ were the catalyst of The Worst, Most Despair-inducing Incident in the history of Mankind!"

When the pain got too much, he let out a big scream, the painful yell echoing throughout the room until it began to slowly dissolve into nothing.

Then it was utter silence. Everyone stood there in anxious anticipation, watching the brunet as his arms slowly came down.

"N-Naegi-san?" The pig-tailed girl asked meekly, breaking the silence.

A smirk grew on Makoto's face as he slowly reach his hand into his back pocket. "I ought to thank you, Monokuma, for playing your part."

"Unfortunately," a glimpse of red flashed from inside one of his back pockets. "your game is over." He pressed it, causing the bear before them to explode, leaving no trace left.

Everyone watched in utter shock as every single bear after him exploded like it was the Fourth of July. After the last one fell, he silently walked over to where the bear once was and sat there in his place.

"You...Why did you do that?" Aoi asked, still in shock. "I thought you and him were partners."

"Nah." He said in a matter in fact tone, his eyes that were once pure brown was now a deep red. "I never really was the bear type. Junko just coaxed me into it. Now that she's gone, I finally get rid of them."

"So, now that you know the _real_ truth..Have any questions?"


	2. Chapter 2

Everyone was silent as their former leader/ex-leader sat on the throne, surprisingly not looking down at them like they were inferior or just pawns in his game but instead as close friends?

_Hmm... _Kyouko mused to herself. _Maybe Naegi's sharp wit wasn't the only trait that was shared between them._

"Eh? You don't have any questions for me? I thought you guys were bursting with them. Well then," He slowly reached out for the red button next to him. "If you don't have any thing to say..."

"Wait!"

"Huh?" He glanced back at the direction of the voice. A slight smile grew on his face once he saw who it was.

"Ah, Kyouko Kirigiri. I knew that out of everyone else, you would be the first one to respond."

She lowered her hand. "What happened to Naegi back at those days that caused him to make you?"

The smile on his face grew wider as he put his hand away from the button. "That, my dear, is a good question. A question that I can't refuse to answer."

"As you already know...All of you, Makoto included, were all in the same class together." His expression then grew soft as he smiled peacefully. It almost made them think that person up there was their kind hearted, painfully hopeful leader they all grew to love and respect. "Those was the happiest days of his life."

"But," Then his expression darkened, bringing them back to the reality of the situation. "Not everything was all puppies and rainbows back at that hell of a school. For what you didn't know was that Makoto was being bullied."

Aoi, Chihiro, Yasuhiro, and Touko all froze.

"W-What?" The Ultimate Swimmer Pro blurted it out in shock.

"How long has this been going on?" Kyouko asked.

The brunet grew silent for a moment before his body changed positions. He kept his head down.

"Naegi." Kyouko said sharply. "I know you can hear me. How long has this been going on?"

He remained silent.

"Tell me."

Knowing that he couldn't keep it a secret any longer, he held on to his pants tightly. "...Ever since high school started. I thought I could keep it a secret so I wouldn't be a burden to anyone else...I didn't even tell my parents. I..I just didn't want anyone to worry about me. So I kept on a mask to hide my true feelings from everyone around me. Who would've known that it was so convincing, I became the mask I wore, innocently believing that everything would be okay...That everything would turn out alright in the end.."

"Look where it got me now." He said with a bitter smile. "I led you guys into my own trap just because I was too scared and insecure to speak up about how I truly feel...Now we're trapped in a school with no way to escape, forced to kill each other like it's some kind of sick game! Monokuma was right..I really am a monster. I...I don't deserve to be with you-"

"Snap out of it!"

He then looked up to see Chiriro with a stern look on his face. "You're not a monster, you hear me! You're Naegi Makoto, our leader and the Ultimate Hope!"

His eyes lit up with a hint of hope as he looked at the boy before him. "Chihiro..."

"Yeah! You were just caught up in Junko's web, just like the rest of us!" Aoi chirped.

"Don't give up, Naegi." Byakuya said with his typical frown. "Or else I'll never forgive you."

"You're a part of us now, whether you like or not." Kyouko added. "So don't just throw yourself away like this, Naegi. So please...come back to us."

Everyone then stopped to hear a small chuckle slowly come out before he ended up bursting in laughter. The brunet then looked at the "students" before him with a mischievous glint in his crimson irises. "I gotta say that was a amazing performance! Watching you guys belt out such kind words was so inspiring. It's no wonder that he trust you guys so much!"

"What was that for, you creep?!" Aoi shouted in frustration. "Are you some kind of sadist?"

The joy on his face slowly faded into a calm and slightly tiresome expression, as if she personally struck a nerve with him. "A murderer, an arsonist, an delinquent...You can accuse me of many different things." She then froze once she felt his piercing gaze at her. In a flash, the atmosphere once again grew even heavier than the last, instantly reminding the others of their current situation. "But a sadist isn't one of them."

"Well," He said with a somewhat easygoing yet still serious tone. "It's not like I didn't have any other reason to deceive you like that. Even though the looks of your faces was a _little_ funny.."

"A little...?" Yasuhiro muttered to himself.

"Jokes aside, I merely wanted to show you how I was created. The more emotions he hid away, the more I could feel in return. One by one, I've witnessed everything he'd been through and everything he felt. His pain and suffering due to being pushed around, his frustration and anger towards the people who bullied him mercilessly, his longing for a better life...His hopes and his dreams...But most of all, the wonderful memories he'd shared with you. Both in the present and in the past."

Kyouko averted her eyes from everyone in thought. _So that's why he was looking at us like that earlier.. _

"Luckily for him," A smile grew on his face. "it didn't take them to long to stop."

"Then...that means..." Touko paused. "You..."

"No. I didn't kill them. As much as I wanted them to suffer just like he did, I knew that he would suffer even more if he had blood in his hands. So I took the easy route and reported them to the principal. I may be the true Mastermind, but I do not believe that the end justify the means. And although we were 'partners' at the time, even I thought that her plans were...disturbing to say the least. So after I wiped all of your memories and watched you and Makoto survive the game, I waited carefully for the right time to strike back."

"But how did you-"

"I could see everything that he see, same goes for how he feels and tastes and hears. It was only a matter of time until I could influence him without anyone noticing nor Makoto or anyone else getting hurt in the process. How else do you think he has such a good memory in the first place?"

Kyouko remained stagnant. "So all those times during those investigations? And the court cases?"

He lightly smirked. "I may have helped you guys out in the past. After all, we were once the same person, so it was completely easy to act like my other half. I guess I should've been the Ultimate Actor instead. But I'm getting off topic. Now, before I press this button and end this hopeless charade, do anyone else have any other questions they would want to ask?"

Everyone was silent. "Well then..." He then smiled mischievously. "Since you guys still got the answer wrong...It's PUNISHMENT TIME!" He smashed the button with his fist, causing the entire school to shake.

Everyone shut their eyes, bracing for the brutal executions that await them.

But it didn't happen.

When Chihiro and everyone else opened their eyes, they looked up in shock to see a bright light shining before them.

"Ah, my mistake!" He gently bumped his head with his own fist while sticking out his tongue. "Looks like I pressed the wrong button. Sorry!"

Even Kyouko was shocked. "You...You're letting us go?"

He then looked up at the female detective with almost as much respect as his polar counterpart did. If she didn't knew any better, it almost felt like the Makoto they knew was in front of her. "It's like I said before. I don't believe in murder. Besides, I made a promise to keep Makoto happy. And I know he's in good hands." He let out a small lighthearted chuckle. "I can feel it...He's waking up soon. He'll probably wonder why the exit's open. Then again I probably won't even need to remind him. Once he wakes up, me and him will merge and become one and the same again. Just as it should be."

"Well then," Kyouko smiled. "Tell him that we're waiting for him once he wakes up."

His eyes lit up with a faint sense of joy before he closed his eyes with a smile on his face.

"I will."


	3. Chapter 3

Makoto slowly opened his eyes to find himself alone in the middle of nothingness. Just a cold, empty place with no light expect for his own.

_Huh? Where...Where am I? Everything is so dark and cold..._

_How...How did I get here anyways?_

"You were the catalyst of The Worst, Most Despair-inducing Incident in the history of Mankind!"

_! Oh...That's right..._

_I'm the Mastermind. I joined with Junko just because I couldn't handle being bullied... I was the one who erased everyone's memories... I was the one pulling all the strings..._

_A_ hopeless smile grew on his face. _Heh...Who am I kidding? I'm not the Ultimate Hope. I never was. _His eyes slowly turn crimson. _Maybe being the Ultimate Despair isn't so bad after all..._

The young brunet snapped out of his own thoughts when he felt a familiar yet surprisingly rough hand on his shoulder.

**Oi, Makoto...** He paused once he felt the threatening aura coming from the person behind him. When he slowly looked over his shoulder, a reflection of himself looked down at him with a smile, even though he could tell that it wasn't because he was happy.

**What with these horrible thoughts plaguing our mind like this? There's only supposed to be one negative Makoto around here, and that's me.**

The brunet didn't respond, prompting his other self to grab him by the hood.

**WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO YOURSELF?! DON'T YOU WANT TO BE WITH THEM?!**

Makoto averted his eyes, the hope in his eyes were gone, making them blank and empty. _What's the use anyway? After all, I'm not even the real Makoto Naegi. I'm anything but that. I'm just the trash you never afford to take out._

He clenched the hood tightly in rage. **OI! DON'T YOU DARE GET TAKEN OVER BY OUR DESPAIR! YOU HEAR ME, MAKOTO!?**

Silence echoed throughout the echoing space until he gently placed the empty shell down only to pick him up onto his back. **...Fine. Since you're so stubborn...I'll take you there myself.**

The monochrome clad teen shuffled through the feelings of hopelessness with ease. Being his negative emotions, he was immune to its deceptive ways.

However, his main focus was to get his optimistic half out of here before he loses the small amount of hope he has left.

**His body already feels so cold...It's only a matter of time before- **He stopped once he felt his other self's hand clench tightly onto the hood. Simultaneously, he stumbled a bit once he felt a sudden surge of positive energy empowering his whole body.

**This...This feeling...Is this what** 'hope' **feels like?** Knowing that his other self is still alive, he clenched his teeth and continued.

**No...I can't let him die here...We have to keep going..! **He looked up to see a faint light shining brightly right before their very eyes. **We're almost there, Makoto! Just...a few more steps..! **

The light grew brighter and brighter until it enveloped everything around it.

* * *

Kyouko watched as the brunet stirred from his sleep, his left eye was bright red in contrast to the other's dark brown.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah." He repiled as he got out of the throne.

"Alright then..." She gently smiled while reaching her hand to his. "Shall we go?"

Makoto stopped before smiling happily.

"Yeah. Let's go."


End file.
